Côte d’Ivoire delivered a surprise victory in the men’s 4x100m relay, clocking a new national record to beat defending champions Ghana on Friday 15 May at the African Senior Athletics Championships Accra 2026.
Crowds at the University of Ghana Stadium in Legon waited in anticipation for the final event of day four – a race billed as a showdown between home favourites Ghana and 2023 African Games champion Nigeria.
As the race unfolded, Côte d’Ivoire – drawn in lane one – powered down the home straight to claim gold in a national record time of 38.52 seconds.
Nigeria finished behind them to earn the silver medal in a season’s best of 38.70, while defending champions Ghana settled for bronze in 38.74.
In the women’s 4x100m relay final, Nigeria’s quartet of Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo, Jennifer Obi Chukwuka, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Miracle Ezechukwu completed a successful title defence in a new championship record (42.92).
Nigeria has now won four consecutive titles at these championships since Asaba 2018.
Completing the podium was Liberia, finishing closely behind the winners in 43.05, while the host nation, Ghana, took the bronze medal in 44.85.
Kenya’s Diana Wanza delivered a strong solo effort in the final laps of the women’s 10,000m to win the gold medal in a personal best time of 31:33.26.
Wanza finished ahead of Rwanda’s silver medallist Florence Niyonkuru (31:43.73) and Ethiopia’s bronze medallist Asefu Abrha Kiros (31:45.91).
Elsewhere, South Africa boosted their medal haul with strong performances in the women’s shot put and heptathlon finals.
South Africa’s Colette Uys launched a winning throw of 17.63 metres to secure the gold medal in the shot put ahead of Gabon’s Carine Mekam Ndong (16.71) and Kenya’s Belinda Oburu (16.39), taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.
In the heptathlon, Benin’s Odile Ahouanwanou struck gold once again with a combined score of 5,309 points, claiming her fourth consecutive continental title.
Enya Pooler earned a silver medal for South Africa with 5,255 points while Cameroon’s Adele Mafogang Tenkeu took bronze with 5,227 points.
CONTRIBUTORS
Kelly is a London-based digital editor driven by a love for sport, with track and field at the heart of it. She breaks up her excessive screen time by running laps around the park or planning her next holiday!
